Feel free to chime in. What was your first nursing experience like? What specialties or kinds of places did you begin this rewarding career? Ive loved the amazing nursing has lead me too. I began in pediatrics. I have had the opportunity to watch and help my patients grow over the years. That has been very rewarding. My first child I cared for had a rare cardiac anomaly and seeing her battle through the surgeries and her strokes that resulted from a couple of heart surgery was very rewarding and inspired me into pediatrics and cardiology.

My first nursing experience that made a a difference to me was in nursing school…doing clinical on medsurg floor.of course as a student was given one patient n pretty much told to get out of the way of the working nurses…my patient had Aids n he was an important person to Our State Governor…I took his vital signs n we talked n since I was pretty much told to stay out of the way I spent that clinical day just talking to him about his disease n how it affected his life n he told me it made feel less as a person cause everyone was scared to touch him even the nurses.we talked about a lot of other things too but UST him saying that made me think hard about what kind of nurse u wanted to be n that was one that took care of her patients no matter what they had with as much care,touch,listening,feeling as they needed n I feel I have done that in my career…

My first nursing experience…I was working in a group home for teen mothers and babies. It was hard at first because these babies needed to be loved and so did the mothers. But, because of their hate and hostility it was very hard in the beginning. The care, attention and love that the staff tried to give was hard to accept at first becasue this is what the teens should have been receiving from their own parents and family. I twas a hard start as a new nurse. Once I learned NOT to tke things personally, it became easier. I was able to teach them the things they THOUGHT they knew and show them how to do things the right way. At the end of the day, it was all appreciated, may be not by all, but if you cn just help ONE, then you have done something.